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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-02-97 WS~ • i ' CITY OF LAKEVILLE CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES • APRIL 2, 1997 The meeting was called to order by Mayor Zaun at 5:00 p.m. in the City Hall administration meeting room. Those present: Mayor Zaun, Councilmembers Holberg, Johnson, Mulvihill, Sindt; R. Erickson, City Administrator; D. Feller, Finance Director; D. Volk, Director of Operations & Maintenance; J. Perron, Liquor Store Manager; S. Michaud, Park & Recreation Director; Chris Oace, Cable Coordinator; John Hennen, Administrative Assistant; Brian Grogan, Moss & Barnett; Gary Tushie, Tushie & Montgomery; Jeff Bednar, SRF; Joy Weinand and Marceil Skluzacek, residents; Leslee Gustafson, Deputy City Clerk. ITEM NO. 1: 1997 Park Dedication Budget Mr. Michaud reviewed the proposed revenues and expenditures anticipated for the 1997 Park Dedication Fund. Total revenues are projected to be $447,995 of which approximately $360,000 is from the platting of 400 new lots. Mr. Michaud stated most of the new platted lots will collect park dedication fees based on the new 1997 rates. • Expenditures include $276,828 for aone-time payment of special assessments for four improvement projects. As directed by Council, $60,000 would be established in a special reserve account for the future acquisition of a northeast sector community park. The Dodd Pointe tot lot will be developed at a cost of $40,000; Dakota County is in the process of acquiring the site as a result of the County Road 46 improvement project. Mr Michaud also is recommending replacement of the Independence Park playground equipment which is over twenty years old. Mr. Michaud stated that all playground structures will be evaluated this year in order that a replacement program can be established. Mr. Erickson stated that the proposed appropriations for project design and engineering ($50,000) and special assessments ($276,828) are significant expenditures which are not likely to re-occur. The fiscal management objective of prepaying the special assessments is to avoid the special assessment interest expended over a ten to twenty year period. Councilmember Johnson asked how the interest rate on special assessments compared to what the City can earn on investments. Mr. Feller stated that the interest rates on investments is approximately equal to the interest on investments. Mr. Feller also stated that one factor is the permanent financing of the County Road 46 project which will be sold this fall; interest rates on bonds are trending up at the • CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES APRIL 2, 1997 PAGE 2 • current time. An important consideration of prepaying the special assessments is not to encumber the future of the Park Dedication Fund which is sensitive to economic cycles. Mr. Erickson stated building construction is extremely cyclical and will eventually turn down. If the Park Dedication Fund assumes payment of the special assessments over a period of time, the Fund might lose its ability to finance future park improvements. In addition, the State Legislature is considering levy limits which will prohibit the City from levying taxes for debt payments. Councilmember Mulvihill inquired as to the time frame for construction of the Dodd Pointe tot lot. Mr. Michaud stated if the property was acquired soon, construction could be completed by this fall. The City Council directed staff to proceed with a resolution amending the 1997 Park Dedication Fund for City Council action at the Apri121, 1997, meeting. ITEM N0.2: Presentation of Orchard Lake Park concept plans Mr. Michaud presented two concept plans for the Orchard Lake Park, one of which included use of land on the east side of Klamath Trail for parking. These plans are • an attempt to provide what is not there currently, a public skating facility either for hockey or pleasure skating. The plans include both Orchard Lake Elementary school property and private property located to the south and east. Both plans include parking areas as the current parking areas for the school are very limited. The property located south of the school is used as a single family residence. This property would have to be acquired by the City. Councilmembers expressed concern about locating parking on the other side of the street and the possible problems if the rink was located too close to the railroad tracks. Councilmember Holberg inquired if just the private property could accommodate both the skating facility and parking. Mr. Michaud stated the property is not large enough to accommodate both. Councilmember Holberg expressed her concern that because 70 to 75% of the Orchard Lake students are Burnsville residents, this project not be a City only issue. Mayor Zaun emphasized the City does not want to be placed in a position between the School District and citizens. Mr. Erickson stated that a proposed trail on Klamath would require additional off street parking be in place before a trail is built. Staff supports a pleasure skating facility with lighting. Several cities in the metro area have flooded over asphalt parking lots in the winter and then revert back to the original use during the rest of the year. Mr. Erickson proposed meeting with the school district once a concept CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES APRIL 2, 1997 PAGE 3 . plan utilizing the property proposed to be acquired by the City for parking has .been approved by Council. The City Council directed staff to prepare a new concept plan for Council review and authorized Assistant City Attorney Jim Walston to meet with the owners of the property located south of the school. ITEM N0.3: Presentation of Cable TV franchise and ordinance Mr. Oace introduced Brian Grogan, attorney for Moss & Barnett. He then stated his memo to Council highlighted the proposed changes. The major change is the replacement of a single Franchise Agreement document to two new documents, a Franchise Agreement and an Ordinance. Mr. Grogan stated the current agreement expires on February 2, 1998. Apple Valley, Farmington and Rosemount are no further along with negotiations than Lakeville. The negotiations up to this point have been done through an informal process. If an agreement can not be reached with Marcus Cable through the informal process, negotiations will proceed to a formal process which is a much more structured and time sensitive process. Mr. Grogan stated they hoped to narrow the process down to a few major issues and reach an agreement as quickly as • possible. Mr. Oace stated the Franchise Renewal Group will continue to negotiate with Marcus. Once a preliminary agreement is reached it will go to the Cable Board for discussion. Eventually, the final proposed Franchise Agreement and Ordinance will be presented to the City Council at a public hearing. Councilmember Sindt said that by law the franchise must be non-exclusive. She stated no other cities have brought in another franchise. She does not want Lakeville to lose its advantage as Lakeville was the first to have a franchise which other cities then used. Mr. Grogan said there is the potential for competition; that is why two separate documents have been prepared. As competitive services enter the market, the ordinance stays the same and additional franchises are added. The Council asked several questions regarding how the new franchise will accommodate new technologies. Mr. Oace responded this is dealt with through the provisions dealing with financial reporting and technology capacity. He cautioned that the City can not dictate specific technology. Recent Supreme Court rulings dealing with must carry and channel scrambling were discussed. The Council directed the Franchise Renewal Group to continue negotiations • with Marcus Cable. CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES APRIL 2, 1997 PAGE 4 • ITEM NO. 4: Cable equipment donation - ISD 194 Mr. Oace reviewed his memo to Council concerning the donation of equipment that was originally proposed to be sold. Lakeville School District 194 and the City of Farmington have expressed an interest in the City donating some of the retired equipment to them. The current Resolution 96-129 would need to be amended if Council decided to donate these items rather than placing them for sale. Staff is looking for Council direction. Mayor Zaun asked if there were any restrictions on the sale of the equipment once it has been donated. Mr. Erickson stated previous policy has been that ownership of the equipment reverts back to the City if the equipment is no longer being used. The Mayor asked how it would be perceived by the community if the donated items were used to assist District 194 in airing information outside the City. Mr. Oace commented that the educational channel can be seen in other communities, but the additional equipment will directly impact the citizens of Lakeville within the Lakeville School District. • The City Council directed staff to place the amended resolution donating twenty-eight items to the 194 School District on the next Council agenda. Councilmember Johnson suggested the donations be presented to the School District at the Council meeting. ITEM NO. S: Legislative issues Mr. Erickson provided Council with a handout on sample mandate bills introduced in 1997 and prepared by the LMC. He stated this has been a year of contrasts in the legislature. Cities are under scrutiny by both legislative bodies. Levy limits are seen to be inevitable and the legislature is chipping away at land use issues which will cause cities to lose control in land use planning. Councilmember Holberg asked about the status of the Metropolitan Council. Mr. Erickson said it appears the Met Council has aone-year reprieve from either being abolished or becoming an elected body. Mayor Zaun stated he had talked to Representative Macklin about the proposed levy limits. He commented that Mr. Macklin said if the MUSA is expanded there will be a $1,000 fee for every bedroom in a new residential home. ITEM NO. 6: Consideration of a City Health Officer position Mr. Erickson recommended Council have John Hennen review the City code book and identify all ordinances that may require the services of a Health Officer. Once Mr. Hennen has identified those ordinances, staff will determine which ordinances CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES APRIL 2, 1997 PAGE 5 • the County Health Department administers. Lakeville's Health Officer's duties could then be determined. The Council directed Mr. Hennen to proceed with the project. ITEM NO. 7: Presentation of Stop Sign Policy Committee recommendations Mr. Volk introduced Jeff Bednar from SRF. Mr. Volk reviewed the proposed All- Way Stop Control Policy and the Justification Worksheet. He stated the committee provided excellent input relating to the goal of developing a consistent stop sign policy for the City. Mr. Volk informed the Council this appears to be the first stop sign policy in the state that addresses neighborhood streets. The Justification Worksheet is a tool to gather data and has been field tested using last year's data. The All-Way Stop Signs brochure was drafted because of citizens expectations in slowing speeds with the use of stop signs. It is hoped the brochure will answer questions and provide information and inform citizens that stop signs don't cure speeding vehicle problems. Mayor Zaun asked if the criteria listed on the Justification Worksheet could be used with preliminary plats, and if it could be plugged into the GIS data base and used • with traffic patterns of existing streets to determine if stop signs are needed. Mr. Bednar said traffic volumes and possibly speed levels could be developed within the data base. Councilmember Holberg stated she felt good about the study, however, she does not want to give a false sense of expectation to citizens based on certain statements in the brochure. The Mayor suggested not including petition information in the brochure. Mr. Erickson stated that in place of petition information, the brochure could establish credibility by referencing the stop sign committee membership. The petition would be sent only when a policy handbook is sent to a citizen. Mr. Erickson suggested printing the brochure using black and red print. Mr. Hennen thought the City's logo should be on the first page. It was recommended the policy committee be invited to attend when the policy is presented at a Council meeting. Also, the Council may want to revisit the policy in six to twelve months. The Council directed staff to bring the All-Way Stop Control Policy to a future City Council meeting with a provision for evaluation of the policy to be done within a certain time frame. Also, the brochure should be revised to reflect the changes the Council identified. • ITEM NO. 8: Discuss installation of a recreational facility or community garden on City property by area residents CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES APRIL 2, 1997 PAGE 6 Mr. Erickson stated Council had received information concerning a volleyball court erected by area residents on City owned property. The City had previously received complaints so Mr. Robinette had worked with the residents in removing items associated with the volleyball court. The residents would now like to use this property for gardens. He introduced Joy Weinand and Marceil Skluzacek. Ms. Skluzacek said she was appointed as spokesperson for the neighborhood. For the first couple of years they lived there the property appeared to be abandoned. They and the neighbors worked to improve the drainage, hauled away garbage, planted seed and maintained the property. Six or seven households then decided they would like to build a volleyball court on the property. Last fall they were informed the volleyball court needed to be removed. Ms. Skluzacek stated that if the property could not be used for recreational purposes, the neighborhood would like to know if the City would approve of community gardens in that area. Mr. Erickson informed the Council this started as a zoning issue. The City is under a significant amount of liability if City property is used for volleyball courts, basketball hoops, etc. Councilmember Mulvihill acknowledged that while current neighborhood residents want to maintain this area, new owners may not want to do so in the future. Mr. Erickson stated this is a flood plain area and if the City allowed a volleyball court, the timbers could possibly end up in the culverts during a heavy rainfall. Councilmember Johnson sympathized with the residents but no resident wants their tax dollars to pay for lawsuits. Mayor Zaun said a City policy on these types of issues is needed. Mr. Erickson suggested Council have the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee look into these issues. The Council directed the Parks & Recreation Advisory Committee to proceed with consideration of a policy. ITEM NO. 9: Presentation of Liquor Store #4 interior/exterior plans Ms. Perron presented the modified layout and design of the proposed Liquor Store #4. The new design has reduced the square footage of the store to 9,332 square feet. There is good visibility from both County Road 46 and Kenrick Avenue. There will be two access driveways, one for customers and the north access for delivery trucks and vans. The parking lot will have fifty-one stalls, plus three handicapped and four car/truck stalls. The entrance is a vestibule style with automatic doors. The loading dock and trash area will be screened and include landscaping. The entrance monument is proposed to be brick and be located in a bed of flowering shrubs. • ~ •' i ~ ', ~ CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES APRIL 2, 1997 PAGE 7 • Mr. Erickson stated the parcels are proposed to be administratively combined. Councilmember Johnson asked if there is an increase of heat loss with power doors. Mr. Tushie said power doors open and close faster than standard doors so there is no additional heat loss. Power doors are preferred because many customers are carrying beer cases of empties when they arrive and purchased items when they leave. Ms. Perron detailed the layout of the first floor, including the proposed lighting. The beer cooler will have twenty-seven doors, allowing for the marketing of specialty and draft beers. She commented the store has the potential for $1,500,000 in annual beer sales. Councilmember Holberg asked why the basement was so small. Mr. Erickson stated that by code, if there is only one exit it cannot be any larger. Mr. Tushie described the exterior and said the plans show a proposed glass block window on the County Road 46 side. Mr. Tushie explained that for security reasons a glass block is better than an opaque window. This wall could come out for expansion purposes. Mr. Erickson said for the store to be open by Thanksgiving, the City would need to work with the County to purchase the site and engage the services of Tushie Montgomery and Bossardt. The Council directed staff to proceed with the project and place on the April 21, 1997, Council agenda the Architectural Agreement and Construction Management Services Agreement for the construction of Liquor Store #4. The work session adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, ~r.- ~~ r Leslee Gustafson Deputy City Clerk